Let’s be clear, Queen Elizabeth II is an undisputed powerhouse in her own right, but even the Monarch of Great Britain has her moments when it comes to technology.
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the 94-year-old has gotten right on board our new normal, partaking in Zoom calls and adapting to working from home (or more accurately, ‘working from castle’) just like the rest of us.
But new footage of the Queen’s latest Zoom has proved that even those most eloquent struggle with the video technology – and it’s a welcome breath of fresh air.
In a preview for a new ITV documentary about Princess Anne set to air in celebration of her 70th birthday, footage of a video conference call including the Princess Royal and her mother is included – and it’s a sight to behold.
In Anne: The Princess Royal at 70, Anne is seen helping her mother via the video link as they begin a meeting.
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“Can you see everybody? You should have six people on your screen,” the Princess royal tells her mother.
The Queen, who was tuning in from Windsor Castle tells her: “Yes, well, I can see four anyway.”
“Ok fair enough. Actually, you don’t need me,” Anne then jovially adds.
“You know what I look like.”
The Queen needed a little helping hand from her daughter as she joined in a video call.
(ITV)The hilarious clip was shared by ITV royal correspondent Chris Ship, who comically wrote: “Watch how Princess Anne tried to teach her elderly mother about @zoom_us. But her elderly mother is, err, the Queen.”
A number of people replied to the Tweet, which has since done the rounds in royal watching circles.
On fan wrote: “I love it! The whole world deals with zoom in the same way: ‘Can you see me?’ ‘Can you hear me?’ ‘Am I on?’ ‘Is my background neat & tidy?’ Love their humanity, their humility, and their graciousness.”
Another jokingly added: “I want to see the Queen with an accidental tropical island backdrop.”
One fan also referenced Anne’s easy-going, relatable nature.
“My favourite royal. Met her in a tent at Earls Court camping exhibition just after she got engaged to Mark Phillips. She was lovely and appears to be the same down to earth person whoever she’s talking to. “
“She was lovely and appears to be the same down to earth person whoever she’s talking to” – fans have praised Anne for her relatable nature.
(ITV)The royal family have well and truly boarded the Zoom call band wagon over lockdown.
Anne and the Queen were joined by 71-year-old Prince Charles and 73-year-old Camilla as they also took to the virtual platform for various engagements amidst the pandemic.
But perhaps most candid of all was Duchess Catherine and Prince William, who have partaken in a number of video call conferences with people from all walks of life as they shone a light on many charitable and socially responsible causes during the health crisis.
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The peak was surely when the family took part in BBC One’s Big Night In back in April, when Wills joined in a video call with British comedian Stephen Fry.
In the clip, Wills is asked whether he’s caught up on the Netflix sensation Tiger King, to which Wills quickly shut down, quipping that he chooses to “avoid shows about royalty”.
Then, Wills hints he has another thing to tend to, telling Stephen: “Let me just see if I can find my socks… and my shoes…”
The Prince surreptitiously glances down next and says: “…and my trousers.”
Watch the moment in the player below:
The family (including Kate and their three children George, Charlotte and Louis) were later seen stepping out of their house to join in the Clap for Carers initiative, which saw the country stop at 8pm every Thursday to join in a round of applause for the tireless work NHS staff were doing.
If there’s one thing we’ve learnt about the royals during this turbulent time, it’s that they’re really not so different to ourselves.
